LONDON — Swimmer Missy Franklin could depart the Olympics with more than $200,000 to spend on a high school prom dress or college dorm furniture, but the ultimate worth of her heavy medal haul is tangled up in NCAA red tape.

It’s a big money question for Franklin, because the bonuses given U.S. Olympians for podium finishes at the Summer Games are the only major way this 17-year-old Regis Jesuit senior can reap a financial reward from five swimming medals and maintain her amateur standing.

The NCAA, however, has been slow to notify USA Swimming whether Franklin will get a windfall or a relative pittance. It’s crucial information Franklin needs when she discusses the pros and cons of turning pro upon her return to Colorado next week.

Here’s the breakdown of the cash in question:

Each individual gold medal won by Franklin is worth $25,000 from the U.S. Olympic Committee’s standard bonus. By winning the backstroke at both 100 and 200 meters, she is guaranted at least $50,000, plus lesser dollar amounts as a member of three American relay teams that captured a medal. That’s money Franklin can keep with no impact upon her amateur status with the NCAA, according to USA Swimming spokesperson Karen Linhart.

But here’s where it gets really interesting and more than a little confounding.

USA Swimming bumps the reward for each individual gold medal by a sweet $75,000. Although contacted well before Franklin made a major splash in the Olympic pool, NCAA officials have not informed USA Swimming if acceptance of this additional $150,000 in earnings would make Franklin ineligible to compete for California-Berkeley, Georgia or any other college program she might choose.

Repeat: We’re talking about $150,000. That’s not chump change for most American families, including the Franklins.

To put it nicely, the rulebook of amateur sports is a puzzle, at best. The NCAA is a bureaucracy that too often places athletes far down its list of priorities. While Franklin can pocket the basic gold-medal bonus from the USOC, accepting a $50,000 bonus won by setting a world record in the 200 back is strictly prohibited, unless she wants to turn pro.

Scratching your head? Me, too.

After unheard of success for a teenage swimmer, Franklin is entering uncharted waters. With sponsors interested in signing the new face of U.S. swimming as an endorser, it would be easier for Franklin to say no if she could put more than $200,000 in the bank from Olympic bonuses.

“She is going to college. Mom has spoken. And she wants to go to college,” said D.A. Franklin, the swimmer’s mother. “The point is: Will she swim with a college team and compete? Or turn pro and just practice with the coach where she goes to college?”

The NCAA is very efficient at profiting from its athletes’ labors through a lucrative contract for March Madness. The NCAA is quick to rule athletes ineligible when they mess up.

Why would the NCAA not want to support Franklin’s desire to compete in college?

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